Apple has begun offering a 32-inch Sharp Ultra HD LED monitor in its European web stores. The 4K monitor, which retails for £3,499.00 (or roughly $5,700 USD), has been available since November, but this is the first we’ve heard of Apple selling it.

The display uses Sharp’s IGZO technology (Indium gallium zinc oxide) and has a resolution of 3840 x 2160. It offers a 1.07 billion color palette, an 800:1 contrast ratio, and comes with DisplayPort support (though it doesn’t include the Mini DP adapter)… Read More

Apple’s web page advertises the new iPad mini with Retina display as coming in late November. In Apple’s parlance, that’s probably November 29, a Friday. Apple’s penchant for making new products available shortly following the announcement was not on display at the October 22 media event as the company said the new iPad mini would not launch alongside the iPad Air.

We already heard that Apple was looking to both LG Display and Samsung as the primary iPad mini screen supplier Sharp has been experiencing issues producing high-resolution 7.9-inch IGZO panels, causing limited supplies at launch. A new report alleges Sharp’s LCD panels are actually suffering from burn-in problems, prompting Apple once again to seek help from arch-rival Samsung… Read More

At the same time, it hasn’t gone unnoticed that the iPad Air achieves the same 10-hour battery life (and 24-hour LTE hotspot performance) in spite of packing in a powerful 64-bit A7 processor and, more importantly, a much smaller battery than its predecessor, 32.9 Whr versus 43 Whr for the iPad 4.

Now, one of the benefits of using IGZO display technologies is vastly reduced power consumption. So, has Apple switched to IGZO panels for the iPad Air or not? Read More

Apple has long wanted to make a switch from the traditional LCD IPS display technology utilized on iOS devices to Sharp’s cutting-edge IGZO technology.

Unfortunately, Apple’s been unable to offer an IGZO iPhone because the struggling Japanese giant had been facing tremendous technical hurdles preventing mass production of these sophisticated panels.

According to the latest supply chain chatter, Sharp has now successfully commercialized production of IGZO panels for smartphones and will begin manufacturing them at its Kameyama Plant Number 2 before the end of 2013… Read More

According to a new report, upcoming iPads and MacBook laptops should feature significantly better battery life thanks to their use of IGZO display panels. The technology, which uses indium gallium zinc oxide, was co-developed by Sharp and Semiconductor Energy Laboratories.

Apple has long been rumored to adopt the use of IGZO display panels in its mobile products, but production issues and other barriers have prevented this from happening. But if today’s news holds true, that could change as early as this year thanks to supply chain advancements… Read More

Amidst growing rumors of Apple working on a larger-screened iPhone and a full-sized TV set, comes news today that the Cupertino company has hired a high-profile executive to join its prestigious Display group.

His name is Dr. Jeung Jil Lee, and he’s a former senior OLED (organic light-emitting diode) expert from LG Display. The hiring reignites speculation that Apple is considering using the display tech in its products… Read More

But one analyst isn’t worried at all. In his mind, the cutbacks are the result of an upcoming “evolutionary technology update” for the next iPhone rather than a sign of a lack of demand for the new Apple handset… Read More

The reduction in orders of iPhone 5 displays and other components isn’t a sign of weak demand as sober analysts paint demand as robust. Nevertheless, the rumor has opened door for more speculation that the Cupertino, California company is winding down production of the iPhone 5 ahead of the iPhone 5S release in June or July.

Be that as it may, it would be very atypical of Apple to pull the current-generation model from shelves after just six months. Even as the company switches to a bi-annual refresh cycle, it will still want to continue offering the iPhone 5 at a reduced price after the next-gen model becomes available. According to a new report, these supply cuts are actually the result of Apple considering IGZO displays for upcoming iOS devices… Read More

Sharp, one of Japan’s three struggling consumer electronics giants (the other two are Sony and Panasonic), showed off its IGZO panels at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Last we heard, Apple was hoping to use IGZO tech in upcoming products. It’s interesting Sharp’s demonstration included Corning, the maker of the iPhone’s cover glass that in its third-generation boasts 40 percent higher scratch resistances and 50 percent better overall strength. Sharp’s IGZO technology requires only a fraction of energy compared to traditional LCD screens and provides richer, livelier colors, deeper blacks and overall sharper images while maintaining the thinness of in-cell display tech featured on the iPhone 5… Read More

Apple is reportedly in talks with Sharp to use the company’s IGZO (Indium gallium zinc oxide) technology in its next-generation iPhones and iPads. The backplane tech, which has been a hot topic over the past several months, allows for thinner, high resolution displays that require substantially less power… Read More

So, are you tired of the iPhone 5 already? Feeling the after-announcement blues, sort of like the after-Christmas let-down? Cheer up, Apple fans, the iPhone 5S (or the iPhone 6 or whatever Apple calls it) is coming next June or July. According to one Wall Street observer, the new iPhone will include a “super HD” camera and screen, stronger battery and NFC.

What’s more, the iPhone 5S will arrive in a rainbow of colors, or at least 6-8 different colors, according to Jefferies analyst Peter Misek. Also on tap: the iPad 5 with an IGZO screen and more colors… Read More

More good news for people keeping their fingers crossed for Sharp’s IGZO panels appearing on iOS devices: Tuesday morning, The Wall Street Journal reported that chip maker Qualcomm has agreed to invest as much as ¥9.9 billion, or approximately $120.4 million, in “what is expected to be the first in a series of capital injections to shore up” Sharp’s battered finances and advance its IGZO tech.

That’s good news as Foxconn’s and Apple’s multi-billion dollar deals with Sharp appear to be going nowhere. Sharp’s stock was downgraded to junk and the ailing Japanese consumer electronics maker is now trying to obtain investments from anyone, be it Apple, Intel, Foxconn or Qualcomm.

The launch of Sharp’s awesome, albeit pricey, 32-inch 4K IGZO pro monitor and the introduction of its own tablet, the Aquos Pad SHT 21, which has a seven-inch IGZO display, both indicate yields are improving and so the likelihood of Apple re-considering IGZO panels in future iOS devices is now growing with each passing day… Read More

Sharp, the struggling Japanese consumer electronics maker, is finally taking its low-power IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) panels off the ground, announcing Wednesday a 32-inch monitor built around this proprietary display tech. And with 4K resolution of 3,840-by-2,160 pixels, it’s a marvel of cutting-edge display engineering.

That’s four times the pixels of the current full HD standard which maxes out at 1,920-by-1,080 pixels. In addition to low power consumption, the new monitor achieves the industry’s thinnest profile by adopting a specially designed edge LED backlight that’s only 35mm deep… Read More

Sharp, who makes TVs, displays and other electronics, is in serious trouble right now. The company is bleeding money, its stock price is plummeting and it says that it’s not sure that it can continue to operate.

In fact, the dyer situation has Foxconn worried enough that it’s thinking about pulling out of its deal to buy an 11% stake in the company. But according to a new report, Apple may be looking to help out… Read More

On the eve of Apple’s iPad mini event, the Japanese giant Sharp has announced it expects shipments of devices incorporating its cutting-edge low-power IGZO (Indium gallium zinc oxide) display technology to surge. IGZO incorporates a thin-film transistor that allows for thinner devices while reducing power consumption and increasing image quality. NPD DisplaySearch claimed last month Apple would refresh display tech on the iPad 3 and another story back in July asserted that a 7.85-inch mini iPad would use an IGZO display made by Sharp… Read More